The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has ended and, as expected, its idiocy continued right to the last event.
On the final night, the last celebrity event started about 30 minutes sooner than expected which caught a handful of photographers off-guard. These photographers arrived, perhaps, 10 – 15 minutes after the red carpet area was “locked down.” (Yes, it actually uses that term for its oh-so-high security efforts).
When this group of photographers arrived, the actors were about 150 to 200 feet away signing autographs for the fans. Possible film festival options:
1) Allow the photographers to walk the three steps (yes, 1, 2, 3 steps) across the far end of the empty red carpet and into the large open field behind the media area. The photographers could’ve then walked to the photo area without disturbing anything.
But it’s against policy to let in late-arriving photographers and it’s against policy to walk through the open field. Although, it was okay for members of the public to wander into and take pictures from this open field.
2) Allow the photographers to walk the three steps (yes, 1, 2, 3 steps) and then stand in the 60% empty TV area.
But it’s against policy to have still photographers in the TV area. Although, it was okay for TV crew members to use their still cameras to take pictures from the TV area.
So these photographers were refused entry. But at this very same time, film festival people themselves were walking back and forth in the exact spot where the photographers needed to cross. The photographers requested to speak with a supervisor, (one of whom was standing at the other end of the red carpet), but the film festival people guarding the entry gate refused.
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Fixing the film festival:
1) Double the size of the press conference room. The space is there, as TIFF rents the entire convention floor of a hotel. Why do the film festival and press offices need so much space when their rooms are mostly empty? Merge the two offices into one room and use the extra space as part of the conference room.
Or, get rid of that private photo studio, (have them set up in a hotel room just like all the other photo studios), and the problem is solved.
Cost to do this: $0.
2) Install work facilities for news photographers in the conference room. Provide two tables along the back or side wall, some chairs, power and Internet access (which is already in place but we weren’t allowed to use it).
Cost to do this: $0.
3) At Isabel Bader Theatre (which is a lousy location and shouldn’t be used): move the photo area 50 feet to the west so the area is not in direct sun and photographers can shoot the entire event. Keep TIFF people out of the way.
Never, never, never put TV before stills: actors are always tired after doing two dozen TV interviews. The actors are fresh and awake when they arrive and stills take only a few minutes.
Cost to do this: $0.
4) At Isabel Bader Theatre (stop using this theatre): install a tent so folks don’t get soaked when it rains.
Cost to do this: ??
5) At the Elgin Theatre (beautiful theatre but too small for these events): move the red carpet 4 feet to the north. Don’t allow TIFF people to wander onto the red carpet to snap personal pictures. Put up a barricade on the sidewalk to prevent the public from wandering onto the red carpet and/or standing around the arriving limos. Keep film festival people away from the arriving talent.
Cost to do this: $0.
6) There are two film festivals called “TIFF”: one in Toronto and the original one in Tokyo. At the Toronto International Film Festival, there is absolutely nothing that says “Toronto”.
The Elgin Theatre in Toronto is a beautifully restored, very unique, old theatre with an equally attractive old ticket booth out in front. So why does the film festival cover up the booth with its horrible, logo-covered, plastic background? (Yes, I understand the need to give visibility to sponsors.)
By having this ticket booth and even the entire front entrance of the Elgin available for pictures, it would give some character and charm to the festival.
Cost to do this: $0.
7) At the Elgin, let photographers stand on the sidewalk, just as it lets the public stand there to take pictures. This would increase the photo area by at least 50%. But, to make this work, keep film festival people away from the arriving talent. There is absolutely no reason why film festival people or publicists have to swarm each arriving celebrity.
Cost to do this: $0.
8) At the Elgin: install a temporary one-step bench along the full length of the tiny photo area (maybe 15 feet long?). This would allow front row photographers to sit and second row shooters wouldn’t need to bring ladders. This would free up more space for a third row of photographers, if required.
If the festival really wanted to improve things, it would have a two-step riser and photographers wouldn’t need to bring ladders.
Cost to do this: ??
9) At Roy Thomson Hall: keep film festival people and publicity flacks out of the way and off the red carpet. Rotate the entire red carpet 180º to give media, and the public, a better view.
Cost to do this: $0.
If the Toronto Film Festival really wanted to do it properly, just like a real film festival, then at Roy Thomson Hall:
• widen the red carpet by 400%. The piece of carpet under my office chair, (used to protect my hardwood floor), is wider than the the film festival’s red carpet.
The red carpet has to be wide only in the photo area and not in the TV area. If Canada’s Walk of Fame can carpet a three-lane road for an entire city block then surely the Toronto Film Festival can carpet a 30-foot photo area.
Move the photographers back by perhaps 20 feet. Right now, it’s impossible to shoot a full-length picture. It’s impossible to have more one row of photographers without the back rows shooting only heads. This would also give the talent a bit of breathing room. If you can reach out and touch the celebrity, you’re too close for photography.
There’s a big, open field right next to the red carpet, use it.
• Why is the entire TV area protected from rain but only half of the photo area is protected?
• Why is the TV area five times larger than the photo area even though there are at least three times more photographers?
• Install bleachers for the public. There’s plenty of space in the public square to do this. This would allow all fans to better see the event, although many fans would still line the front barricade for autographs. This would also concentrate fans into one area which would mean a better background for stills and TV. Plus, it would mean less walking for arriving talent. Plus, plus, it would mean better crowd control.
Notice what happened on the final night when actor Sam Worthington, intent on signing *all* autographs, disappeared behind the event for over half-hour. Never would have happened if fans were in one area.
• Light the event. At night, it gets dark. Dark for the arriving talent, dark for the fans, dark for photographers.
Dark = depressing. Dark = lousy photos.
Light = excitement. Light = glamour.
Light = less need for flash = less irritating for the talent.
Light = better pictures = better play in newspapers and magazines.
Light = better for security.
Notice the difference between how the arriving talent “performs” during a daylight premiere compared to a premiere in the dark.
• Keep the event’s own video crew out of the photo area. Keep its reporter on a short leash. There was no need for this talking head to wander aimlessly about during the events.
• Tell the fans what’s happening. Let them know who will be arriving. These fans are very important to TIFF. Without them, the premieres would be dry, boring photo-ops just like the press conferences.
Publish each day’s event info via the film festival’s media partners. It has a newspaper/TV/radio partner doesn’t it? Hand out call sheets to the public. Make the public part of the event.
How many of those ugly orange T-shirts did the film festival produce this year? A couple thousand or more? How many did it give away to fans who waited hours for a glimpse of a celebrity? None.
At Roy Thomson Hall, instead of using that big TV screen (with irritating siren) to show the same endless loop of movie trailers, (which no one could hear), use it to play movie trivia while the fans are waiting for an event to start. And yes, give them prizes.
• Except for Coca Cola and Energizer batteries, why wasn’t any other sponsor giving out free samples to the fans? Giving free samples to the media is nice but it’s meaningless. Almost all sponsors missed a marketing opportunity. None bothered to take advantage of their TIFF connection.
Strongly encourage the sponsors to take part. The more the sponsors pitch in and promote the event, the less the film festival has to do, (although TIFF doesn’t do much now).
10) Distinguish between photographers and reporters. Photographers don’t need a bag full of useless “press material.” Photographers don’t need their contact information given out so they can be spammed throughout the year by film publicists. Photographers don’t need a “lounge” at the other end of the hotel. Photographers have completely different needs than reporters. Does the film festival even know this?
Cost to do this: $0
11) Have designated photo positions. This would eliminate the many hours of waiting in line. Making photographers wait in line for many hours shows a severe lack of respect for photographers. Most pro sports events figured out last century how to do photo positioning.
This year’s e-mail RSVP system was a complete waste of time and accomplished nothing. The film festival itself failed to properly implement it and then failed trying to execute it.
There are five major international wire services in the world plus Canada’s national wire. They are priority one. Then come the handful of local dailies. After that, distribute positions via size or seniority (i.e. some small media outlets have been covering the festival for a longer time than bigger outlets). It’s simple to figure this out. Really.
Cost to do this $0.
12) At press conferences, get rid of those big microphones with the big logos on them. It’s not the 1970s anymore, technology has advanced. The background is already plastered with the same logos stuck on the microphones. The only purpose for these big microphones+logos is to look nice on TIFF’s own videos. Who is the press conference for?
Cost to do this: $0.
13) Make the film festival smaller. That’s right, smaller. That would make it better for the media, better for the industry folks and better for the fans. Everyone would win. Really. Put your ego aside and (re)focus TIFF.
Cost to do this $0.
14) Make it a point to terminate, rotate or refresh your executives every four or five years. It’s important to continually bring in new people and new ideas. Don’t keep doing what you did last year.
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The film festival doesn’t have a clue when it comes to media relations or public relations. It seems to treat both media and public as an irritation that needs to be controlled and minimized. Too bad, since the festival now desperately needs both media and public to help its new Lightbox facility get off the ground.
The frustrating thing, (and the reason why I did seven posts on this topic), is that it’s simple and inexpensive as to how to make the Toronto Film Festival run smoothly for the media and be more fun for the fans. But after 35 years, the film festival still doesn’t have a clue.
I’ve covered the Toronto Film Festival for about 17 of the past 22 years. Only one thing has changed for the better: the Roy Thomson Hall event has moved from the tiny east-side entrance of the building to the huge west side of the building. That’s it. Every other problem today has existed (and even gotten worse) for at least 22 years.
